Founding and early history in
Baltimore Alexander Brown (1764–1834), an Irish linen merchant, emigrated in 1800 from
Broughshane, near
Ballymena, in
Ulster to the United States, settling in
Baltimore, Maryland, where he established the first
investment banking firm in the U.S. In 1808, the company organized the first
initial public offering in the U.S., that of the Baltimore Water Company. By the 1820s, Alexander Brown had expanded his business interests into
sterling exchange and
international trade, including tobacco and cotton. Brown's sons eventually started related businesses in various locations, beginning with William. William founded William Brown and Company in
Liverpool, England, which later became
Brown, Shipley & Co. In 1818, John and James started
Brown Bros. & Co. in
Philadelphia. James subsequently opened a branch in
New York City in 1825, a predecessor to
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Less than two years later, in June 1999,
Deutsche Bank bought Bankers Trust, along with Alex. Brown & Sons, for more than $10 billion. The Alex Brown name initially survived as
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, the brokerage services division of Deutsche Bank Securities. September 2016 marked a new chapter for Alex Brown Wealth Management when it was officially sold to
Raymond James. The company provides a range of advisory, brokerage, research, and investment services to
high-net-worth individual investors in the US. It performs research on more than 2,500 stocks, as well as corporate bonds and foreign securities.
Noted alumni Alex. Brown's chairman in 1998 was
A. B. "Buzzy" Krongard, who was appointed Executive Director of the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2001. ==See also==